Oct 16-31 2018

The Indian State’s barbaric rule of terror in Kashmir continues unabated. On the one hand, the police, Army and paramilitary forces continue to fire upon unarmed people, including women and children, carry out rape and plunder with impunity. Innocent people continue to be labeled “dreaded terrorists” and killed in fake encounters, homes are ransacked and looted in the name of “search” operations, youth continue to “disappear” or die in judicial custody. Blinding hundreds of people by firing pellet bullets in the name of “countering stone–pelters”, the use of unarmed youth as “human shields” by tying them in front of army vehicles – all this has been justified by the Army Chief and spokespersons of the Central government. Under the AFSPA, the Army in Kashmir enjoys unrestricted powers to shoot at sight, torture and commit rape, with complete immunity from any legal prosecution. Under the draconian Jammu & Kashmir Public Safety Act 1978, hundreds of people including minor children are jailed for years on end without any evidence and without ever being brought to trial.

Lok Raj Sangathan organised Political ForumLok Raj Sangathan (LRS) organized a political forum “On the source of growing anarchy and hate crimes” on 30st September 2018 in New Delhi. Many speakers from various political organizations put forth their views enthusiastically. They included Rajarajan from Gandhian Initiative for Social Transformation, G Devarajan from All India Forward Bloc, RS Dagar from UTUC, Dhirendra Sharma from AITUC, Abdul Waris, National Secretary of SDPI, Nizamuddin Khan, State Convenor of SDPI, Krishan Kant from IFTU Sarvahara, Manoj Rai, President of Pravasi Sena, Vinay Chaudhury, President of Concor Container Employees Union, Birju Nayak, Secretary of Delhi Council of LRS and many young speakers, including students and working youth.

This is in response to the in-depth article entitled "The struggle of workers for a guaranteed living wage: The struggle must be waged with the perspective of ending the exploitative capitalist system" carried in the October 1-15, 2018 issue of MEL.

Thank you very much for carrying the article entitled 'Announcement of PM-AASHA scheme for peasantry: Aimed at deceiving the peasantry and enriching capitalist traders' carried in the October 1-15, 2018 issue of MEL. The issue of the relationship between the peasantry and the working class on the one hand, and the peasantry in capitalist economy is one of the important questions facing the movement. There is plenty of room for disorientation and confusion when confronting these questions and hence clarifying the issue is important.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi formally launched the Ayushman Bharat-National Health Protection Scheme (AB-NHPS) from Jharkhand on 23rd September. Ayushman Bharat is being promoted as the world’s largest government funded health care program. The first phase of this program will be implemented from 2018-2022. The main initiatives under this scheme are the setting up of Health and Wellness Centers all over the country and the National Health Insurance Scheme, now named the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY). The National Health Agency (NHA) will be the government body in charge of implementing the entire Ayushman Bharat Scheme.

The US Government announced a massive round of import tariffs (import duties) in September, targeted at US$ 200 billion of Chinese imports, including a wide range of mass consumption goods. It is the latest and biggest move in what is being revealed to be geo-political warfare, using trade policy as one among numerous weapons. China has retaliated to these latest US tariff hikes, by announcing new trade tariffs to take effect from 24th September 2018 on $60bn of American goods and services sold in China

On the midnight of 20th September, Manipur police conducted raids on the students’ hostels and teachers’ residences in the campus of Manipur University. Many students were injured and an atmosphere of terror was created on the university campus. 6 teachers and 89 students are reported to have been arrested following the raids. While 82 of the students were released the next day as per court orders, 7 students and all the 6 teachers were sent to jail for 15 days. The pro-Vice Chancellor subsequently issued a statement saying that all the 6 teachers have been suspended following their arrest.

The Press Trust of India (PTI), the largest news agency in India, laid off 297 staff across the country on 29th September. The management of PTI has justified this move, saying that the workers who have been terminated – transmission supervisors, engineers, assistants and attenders – have become redundant and that keeping them in employment was no longer “financially viable”.

On 2nd October, thousands of farmers, organized under the banner of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) arrived at the border of Delhi, at the culmination of the Kisan Kranti Yatra, which they had begun on 23rd September from Haridwar. The agitating farmers had announced their plan to march through the streets of Delhi to Kisan Ghat and hold a public meeting there to highlight their demands. They had also sought talks with the ministers of the central government, to press for their long-standing demands and to submit a memorandum of their demands to the authorities.

Since September, 2018, more than 3,700 workers from Yamaha India, Myoung Shin Automotive India Pvt. Ltd. and Royal Enfield have been on strike in the Oragadam industrial belt near Chennai. In Yamaha India, two workers were banned from entering the factory premises on 20th September 2018 because they were at the forefront of unionizing the workers. Around 700 workers, including women have been on a sit-down strike since then demanding that the two workers be reinstated.

On January 12, 2018, the Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) of the Maharashtra police picked up four workers of Reliance Industries, a contractor in the same company and another casual worker from Thane. A workers’ union activist was arrested a day before. They have been charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in connection with the Bhima-Koregaon event which had taken place barely two weeks before the arrest.

On 4th October 2018 the workers associated with the construction industry organised a protest demonstration at the office of the lieutenant governor of Delhi. They were demanding their registration, contribution, and reinstatement of various benefits they used to receive from Delhi Construction Board. The protest demonstration was jointly led by more than 16 unions working in the construction industry.

On 9th October 2018 a demonstration was organized by the Kisan Sangarsh Samiti, Dehati Mazdur Sabha, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Naujawan Sabha, Bhavan evam Nirman Kamgar Union Haryana and Lok Raj Sangathan, in front of the Deputy Commissioner’s office in the Fatehabad district of Haryana in order to highlight various demands of the farmers. Parali (stubble left after harvesting paddy) has become the biggest problem for farmers and it was the main issue raised in the demonstration.

An All India Workers Convention was organised by various trade unions, workers’ organisations and federations in Malvankar Hall in Delhi on 28th September 2018. Representatives of trade unions associated with the different sectors of the economy including defense, banking, insurance, railways, road transport, water transport, post, ports, oil, energy, telecom, mines, steel, coal and heavy engineering, enthusiastically participated in the convention. Besides this, representatives of Anganwadi and ASHA workers’ unions also participated.

On 8th October 2018 the Delhi Police lathi charged thousands of safai workers of the East Delhi Nagar Nigam who were coming to demonstrate in front of Parliament House regarding the repeated delays in getting their wages and arrears. Many women and men workers were badly hurt due to this barbaric attack by the police. These workers were demanding that they should be paid their arrears of three months as well as allowances, that contract and daily wage workers appointed since 1998 should be made permanent and that retired workers should be paid their gratuity, etc.

PARTY DOCUMENTS

This document, What Kind of Party?, was presented by
Comrade Lal Singh on behalf of the Central Committee
of the Communist Ghadar Party of India to the Second
National Consultative Conference held December 29-30, 1993.

The first part of this pamphlet is an analysis of facts and phenomena to identify and expose the real aims behind the Note Ban. The second part is devoted to a critical appraisal of the government’s claims that it will reduce inequality, corruption and terrorism. The third part is what Communist Ghadar Party believes is the real solution to these problems and the immediate program of action towards that solution.

100 years ago Ghadar Party was formed by Indians in the US.It was historic milestone in our anti-colonial struggle.

The goal of this party was to organise a revolution to liberate our motherland from British servitude and establish a free and independent India with equal rights for all. It believed this to be the necessary condition for our people to hold their heads high anywhere in the world.